Amid the uncertainty surrounding the future of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, a new opportunity has arisen. Numerous golfers, including Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, and Jon Rahm, are now playing in both PGA Tour and LIV Golf events, greatly boosting their total career earnings.
The sport is undergoing foundational changes as the PGA-LIV merger lingers and NIL offers new sponsorship opportunities to college golfers.
There’s also a new highest-paid professional golfer by career earnings: Rory McIlroy. Thanks in large part to his dramatic 2025 Masters win to complete the career Grand Slam, McIlroy is now the highest-paid golfer in history with $192.7 million career earnings and counting.
He surpassed Tiger Woods, who’s earned $185.7 million in his career. Woods has still earned the most from his 15 major championships, having made $28.2 million from them compared to McIlroy’s $27.7 million.
Dustin Johnson is third with $166.6 million in career earnings but has earned the most from LIV with $54.1 million. Johnson announced his resignation from the PGA Tour in 2022 to compete in the LIV Golf Series full-time.
The two-time major champion winner will hope for a breakthrough in the merger talks between the PGA and LIV to be allowed to participate in PGA tour events again.
Only the top 10 highest-paid professional golfers have made over $100 million in career earnings.
Scottie Scheffler, earning $126.3 million for fourth, made $63.2 million in prize money in 2024. His dominance as the number one ranked golfer has some questioning whether he’s to blame for golf’s slump in ratings, while others point the finger at the PGA-LIV drama.
Nine golfers from the LIV Golf series are among the highest-paid golfers in the world.
Ranking The Highest-Paid Golfers in the World
Here is the full list of the top 25 highest-paid professional golfers by their total career earnings between the PGA, LIV, and additional bonuses. The list was compiled using data from Spotrac.
- Updated: May 29, 2025
| Rank | Player | PGA & Majors Earnings | LIV Earnings | Total Earnings |
| 1 | Rory McIlroy | $165 million | – | $192.7 million |
| 2 | Tiger Woods | $157.4 million | – | $185.7 million |
| 3 | Dustin Johnson | $97 million | $54.1 million | $166.6 million |
| 4 | Phil Mickelson | $105.8 million | $9.4 million | $139.9 million |
| 5 | Scottie Scheffler | $126.3 million | – | $126.3 million |
| 6 | Jon Rahm | $78.5 million | $27.7 million | $116.7 million |
| 7 | Brooks Koepka | $51 million | $43.1 million | $115 million |
| 8 | Sergio Garcia | $56.9 million | $37.1 million | $105.7 million |
| 9 | Justin Thomas | $96.2 million | – | $104.7 million |
| 10 | Xander Schauffele | $89.1 million | – | $103.7 million |
| 11 | Jordan Spieth | $82.9 million | – | $97.7 million |
| 12 | Bryson DeChambeau | $43.8 million | $36.04 million | $93.7 million |
| 13 | Adam Scott | $76.3 million | – | $88.48 million |
| 14 | Justin Rose | $72.6 million | – | $88.46 million |
| 15 | Jim Furyk | $76.5 million | – | $86.6 million |
| 16 | Cameron Smith | $34.7 million | $42.8 million | $85.95 million |
| 17 | Patrick Cantlay | $77.8 million | $83.1 million | |
| 18 | Vijay Singh | $74.9 million | – | $82.7 million |
| 19 | Jason Day | $69.6 million | – | $81.8 million |
| 20 | Patrick Reed | $43.9 million | $28.8 million | $81.4 million |
| 21 | Hideki Matsuyama | $66.8 million | – | $74.9 million |
| 22 | Matt Kuchar | $67.4 million | – | $73.5 million |
| 23 | Bubba Watson | $55.7 million | $9.1 million | $71.2 million |
| 24 | Rickie Fowler | $60.4 million | – | $69.1 million |
| 25 | Talor Gooch | $9.3 million | $57.5 million | $67.5 million |
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